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When a simple home invasion turns out to be not so simple, Ron Granger must put aside his quiet rural life and return to the Central Intelligence Agency to take on international arms dealers.

Aided by his beautiful wife, Valerie, and resourceful teen daughter, Leecy, Ron must quickly decide who to believe among the calculating opportunists, shrewd criminals, and power-hungry rival agencies racing to possess the technological breakthrough that will change the face of modern warfare forever. But when Leecy is kidnapped, Ron and Val must choose between the mission and a rescue.

Facing an impossible decision, with time quickly running out, Ron only knows one thing:

Tara’s Review: This book starts off with a bang – almost literally. After retiring from the CIA, Ron Granger is trying to live a simple, quiet life with his wife and daughter. All that changes when their home is broken into, and the Grangers discover that Leecy, their teenage daughter, was targeted for abduction.

This is a fast-paced thriller of a novel, with lots of gratifying spy action. But this book is more than just a straightforward spy story – it’s also a story about the strength of family ties (hence the title). This family is more than it appears to be to the casual outside observer, and Ron – despite having been retired from the CIA since 2003 – has retained his instincts and skills.

It’s interesting, however, to consider how much technology has advanced since 2003. Ron Granger was more of an “old school” spy, and in this adventure he realizes just how technology-heavy the spy business has become. He’s forced to learn an entirely new way of doing things, quickly.

I really enjoyed the historical information presented in the book – without giving too much away, spying is kind of a family business, and the Grangers tell Leecy details going back to Leecy’s great-grandmother and her WWII experiences using her USO involvement as a cover.

I only had a couple of minor negatives with this book – first, I hate it when characters do not use contractions in their speech. I feel like it makes the dialogue sound stilted and awkward. There are also a couple of places where information is presented via dialogue, but the characters involved in the conversation would already know the information. This is a way of getting that information to the reader, but I find it a bit disconcerting when there’s no reason for a character to be telling another one the information being provided. That being said, the version I read was an ARC, so these minor issues could very well be addressed and corrected before the final copy is published.

This is a compelling and intriguing novel, and I had difficulty putting it aside. There aren’t any lulls in the action; Davis’ writing keeps you wanting to turn the pages until the end. As mentioned, this is the first book in a series of novels about the Granger Family, and the way this book ends guarantees that I’ll be picking up a copy of the next book in the series as soon as it’s released!

About the Author:John J. Davis is the author of the Granger Spy Novel series, including Blood Line and the soon to be published sequel, Bloody Truth, available Spring 2015.

Davis grew up in the Southeastern US and after university traveled extensively in North America during his career as a regional sales rep and independent broker for leaders in the transportation, shipping and pharma industries. His years sitting in lobbies and airports honed his skill for human observation and fed his talent for writing fast-paced, character-driven stories.

His inspiration for the Granger family-of-spies comes from the people he has known and his family roots in the Carolinas–the extraordinarily strong and gentle women and men, whose lives are defined by the love, trust and respect for family. Currently at work on the third Granger Spy Novel and a screenplay, Davis lives near Atlanta with his wife, daughter and two dogs.

Visit www.johnjdavis.com for author news, book signings and insider information about the launch party. Also find character bios, sneak reads and join the mailing list!

Blood Line will be available October 14, 2014 – you can pre-order your copy from Amazon (available as a paperback or Kindle edition). Bloody Truth, the continuation of the Granger Spy Novels, will be released Spring 2015.

Or you can win your very own copy right here! One winner will receive a signed Advanced Reading Copy of Blood Line! If you’re unfamiliar with what an ARC is, it’s the unpublished version of the book – ARCs sometimes contain errors and/or notes, and since it’s not the final version that will be published, the story could possibly be altered slightly prior to publication. Good luck!

DISCLOSURE: I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commissions 16 CFR, Part 255 Guides, Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising. Dividing by Zero is not responsible for prize fulfillment; the sponsor is responsible for shipping the prizes to the winner’s valid address (no PO Boxes). Your information will not be sold or shared; it is used by the blog owner only and solely for verification/prize fulfillment.

I like a lot of genres, but my all-time favorite novel is a mystery, Gaudy Night by Dorothy Sayers. One of the reasons I stopped by your blog when I first found it was because you share a name with my favorite author. 🙂

Hooray! No relation that I know of, but I do like to write a bit myself (horror rather than mysteries). That’s why the domain name is my name, because my original intention was to have this be my author website. Then I got caught up in blogging and the domain I wanted wasn’t (and still isn’t) available, so I just used the one I already had. 🙂

I do some writing too, mostly fantasy, but have never pursued publication or putting my work online. Best of luck if you do convert this to an author website! That would be awesome! Meanwhile, I really love your giveaways. 🙂